Tooth-brush.



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JOSEPH SIMMONS, or Nnwfyonn, n'. Y.

TOOTH-BRUSH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led December 15, 191'?. Serial No. 207,261.

To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, JOSEPH SIMMONS, a citizen of the United States, andresiding at New York, in the county of New York 'and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful improvements in Tooth- Brushes, ofwhich the following is a speci fication, such as will enable thoseskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to tooth brushes, and particularly to devices of`this class which involve an independent brush member and a handledetachably connected therewith, and the invention described and claimedherein consists of the means employed for detachabl connecting thehandle with the brush memer.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specicatiton, oi'which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the separate partsvoi my improvement are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which Figure 1 is a side view of a tooth brushmade according to my invention with part of the construction brokenlaway;

Fig. 2 a. back view showing the brush mem er in oneJ position in fulllines-and indicating it in another position in dotted lines; l

Fig. 3 a partial section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2; f

Fig. 4 a front view of the means employed for connecting the Handle withthe brush member; l

Fig. 5 a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a modification; and,

Fig. 6 an inside View of the shown in Fig. 5. .Y

AIn the accompanying drawing, Figs. 1 to 4. inclusive, I have shown atooth brush a. comprising an independent brush member or -body b, and ahandle c with whichthe brush member orbody b is pivotally connected sothat it may rotate on the handle.

' The brush body or member b is composed of a back b2 and bristles b3connected with the back in the usual or any desired manner',

construction and the back b2 is curved or arc-shaped in formlongitudinally. A y

The back b2 may be formed fromany suitable material, preferablyjcellulold, bone, hard rubber or any otherdesired substance, and in the'back V,surface .thereof is formed a fiat longitudinal groove badapted toreceive a plate spring al Iwhich fits therein, in other words, iscountersunk or adapted to be countersunk in the back 52.

lnwardly of the opposite ends of the groove b4 in the back zare formedtransverse recesses b5 and the plate spring d is vshorter than the backci the brush and is provided at its ends with' -transverse beads or lockdevices d2 adapted to it in the re.

cesses b5 and which lock the plate spring to the back b2, lthisconnection being a detachable one and by reason of this construction theuse of the brush in the mouth is facilitated, the ends of the back orbody of the brush Ibeing made smooth and even, or practically ,with anunbroken surface.

Patented Nev. ae, lars.

The transverse beads or lock devices d2 are preferably formed by rollingthe ends of the spring d inwardly anddownwardly as shown but these beadsor lock devices may be formed in any desired manner, all that isnecessary in this connection being that the spring with its beads orlock devices be shorter :than the backcr body ofv the brush and that therecesses b5 be inwardly of the ends of said back or bodyA of the brush,and that said recesses .be so formed'that when the s ring d' is pressedinto position inthe baci b2, the parts d2 of said spring will enter therecesses h5 and 1 detachably lengage the back b2. rlhis lconnection ofthe spring d with the back b2 of the brush is such that the brush may befreely 'used at all tintes in the usual manner Without disengaging it,or disconnecting it from the handle or the spring d which is ,connectedwith the'handle', but the said spring d may b e disengaged from theback4 -of the brush at any time, when desired, by forcing a suitable'implement under one end portion of said spring.

The pivotal connection of the handle with the plate spring d is shown inFigs. 1 to 4 inclusive, and in this operation a rivet or similar devicee is employed, and the head e2 of the rivet e is countersunk inthe inneror front sides ofthe plate spring d, and said rivet is passed throughthe center countersunk portion of the spring d and through the end ofthe shank ofthe handle c as,

shown at c2, and the outer end of said rivet is headed as shown at. es,but this pivotalV connection of the -plate spring d with the -handle c,orthe shank c3. of the handle may be made in any desired manner.

i. In Figs. 5 and 6, I have shown the handle,

or thc shank thereof, rigidly connected with the plate spring d and inthis construction the rivet e, as shown, is iliade lintegral with theshank of the handle and the head e5 of said rivet vis made angular inform and countersunk inthe bottom of the plate spring d.

By pivotally connecting the brush 'with the handle, said spring may beused in the same manner as that described and claimed in U. S. LettersPatent granted to me. May

4, 1915, No. 1,137,916, or when the handleI is rigidly connected withthe spring d the brush is used in the same manner as other devices ofthis class, or when the handle is formed integral with the back oit thebrush, or rigidly connected therewith in any way. It will be understoodthat the longitudi nal curvature of the back of the brush when theconstruction shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inv clusiveis employed, may be variedto a considerable extent, and the brush body or brush member may be madein a number of dierent forms in longitudinal section varying from acurvature similar to that shown to a U-shaped or box-shaped form, andthis is also true of the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6. With myimprovement a new brush or brush body may be substituted for an old oneWhenever desired,l and the parts b? and d may be disconnected Whenevernecessary for cleaning or other purposes.

Having fully described my invention,

theme16 what `claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isz- 1. A tooth brush, comprising a brush member and a detachable handlemember, the back of the -brush member being curved and provided with agroove in its outer surface at the ends of which are transverse recessesand the handle member being providedwith a curved spring attaching de#vice rotatably connected therewith and adapted to fit said groove andprovided at its ends With locking devices adapted to tit in saidrecesses.

2. A tooth brush comprising a brush member and a detachable handlemember, the back of the Ibrush member being convex in longitudinalsection and being provided with a longitudinal groove in its outersurface and inwardly of the ends thereof with transverserecesses and thehandle member being provided with a curved spring attaching deviceshorter than the back of the brush and adapted to fit in said groove andprovided at its ends with transverse locking devices adapted to itinsaid recesses. A

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname 4in presence of the subscribing Witnesses this 13th day ofDecember, 1917 JOSEPH SMMONS. Witnesses:

C. E. MULREANY, H. E. Trromson.

